Russian occupation officials continued to indicate that efforts to relocate civilians in Kherson Oblast to the east bank of the Dnipro River are part of a wider resettlement scheme.
Thousands of Kherson residents have been ferried across the Dnipro River, away from the frontline and further into Russian-held territory, as the occupying forces prepare to defend the regional capital from an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
So far, more than 22,000 people have crossed to the east bank of the Dnipro, said Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed regional military administration.
He also claimed that the administration’s ‘resettlement’ program is designed to accommodate 60,000 people. Stremousov’s statement seemingly admits that Russian occupation officials view the so-called ‘evacuations’ as precursors to the permanent resettlement of a large population of Ukrainians.
Meanwhile, the Institute for the study of war (ISW) points to the resistance movement that has spread throughout all the territories occupied by Russia, from Kherson to the region of Zaporizhzhia.
The think tank says partisans have likely been active in and around Melitopol since at least mid-March and their growing activities continue to pose threats to Russian control of occupied territories.
Over the recent days, Ukrainian partisans conducted an attack targeting the occupation head in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region.
The UK defence ministry said in its latest update that there have been at least six incidences of sabotage against Russian railway infrastructure since June. Which the Russian anti-war group ‘Stop the Wagons’ claimed responsibility for.
The Russian leadership will be increasingly concerned that even a small group of citizens has been sufficiently opposed to the conflict to resort to physical sabotage.